The audience listens to a presentation at the Montgomery Canal Forum.
A “landmark year” was reviewed and an exciting future predicted at the annual Montgomery Canal Forum organised by the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust and hosted by the Aico Centre of Excellence, Oswestry.
In a year of successes for the Montgomery Canal, the forum heard reports of restoration progress and plans for the future.
In a year of successes for the Montgomery Canal, the forum heard reports of restoration progress and plans for the future.
Already this year:
* a new length of canal in Shropshire has extended the connection to the national canal network
* work has started in Powys, funded by £15.4 million grants from the UK Government Levelling-Up Fund
* contractors have started reconstructing Schoolhouse Bridge, the last highway blockage in Shropshire, funded by private donations and grants from charitable trusts
* Montgomery Canal Triathlon was supported by entrants from across Great Britain, raising more funds for the restoration
* a new Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal has been launched for the next stages of restoration in Shropshire - https://localgiving.org/charity/restorethemontgomerycanal/ .
The forum, opened by Mayor of Oswestry, Cllr Olly Rose, was attended by 70 representatives of county, town, community and parish councils from Shropshire and Powys and canal supporters.
Michael Limbrey, Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust chairman, gave a presentation showing what benefits the restored canal can bring the area. These include safeguards for the natural and built heritage, opportunities for recreation and volunteering and benefits for communities and for the local economy, bringing visitors and boats to the revived canal.
A Shropshire Union Canal Society report stated that volunteers had successfully completed – on budget and on time – the canal to the new terminus at Crickheath.
The society also reported on a new project to restore the canal south of Crickheath, starting with the repair of a former tramway wharf wall before testing the condition of the canal bed to determine the design and specification for rewatering.
Rich Harrison, Canal & River Trust’s principal project manager, set out the Levelling-Up programme involving repairs to Aberbechan aqueduct, Newtown, new nature reserves, four miles of bank and dredging works between Arddleen and Llanymynech and new bridges near Llanymynech.
Michael Haig, the Inland Waterways Association’s Shrewsbury District & North Wales branch chairman, outlined the benefits of canals demonstrated in the new IWA report Waterways for Today.
These benefits included the local economy, natural and built environment, local communities and improvement of peoples’ lives. He said all public navigation authorities are chronically underfunded, leading waterway organisations to combine to promote a ‘Protect our Waterways’ campaign.
“This really is a landmark year for the Montgomery Canal,” said Mr Limbrey, who praised the work of volunteers from across the country who join work parties and canal supporters.
“We now have a new appeal to give vital support to the volunteers as they extend the restoration from Crickheath and I am delighted that many donations have already been made,” he added.
“All this shows an amazing level of support across the country for a canal with social, environmental and economic benefits that will be an asset valued by residents and visitors. That is what so many people have worked for so long to achieve and that has to be great news for the borderlands of Shropshire and Powys.”
* a new length of canal in Shropshire has extended the connection to the national canal network
* work has started in Powys, funded by £15.4 million grants from the UK Government Levelling-Up Fund
* contractors have started reconstructing Schoolhouse Bridge, the last highway blockage in Shropshire, funded by private donations and grants from charitable trusts
* Montgomery Canal Triathlon was supported by entrants from across Great Britain, raising more funds for the restoration
* a new Restore the Montgomery Canal! appeal has been launched for the next stages of restoration in Shropshire - https://localgiving.org/charity/restorethemontgomerycanal/ .
The forum, opened by Mayor of Oswestry, Cllr Olly Rose, was attended by 70 representatives of county, town, community and parish councils from Shropshire and Powys and canal supporters.
Michael Limbrey, Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust chairman, gave a presentation showing what benefits the restored canal can bring the area. These include safeguards for the natural and built heritage, opportunities for recreation and volunteering and benefits for communities and for the local economy, bringing visitors and boats to the revived canal.
A Shropshire Union Canal Society report stated that volunteers had successfully completed – on budget and on time – the canal to the new terminus at Crickheath.
The society also reported on a new project to restore the canal south of Crickheath, starting with the repair of a former tramway wharf wall before testing the condition of the canal bed to determine the design and specification for rewatering.
Rich Harrison, Canal & River Trust’s principal project manager, set out the Levelling-Up programme involving repairs to Aberbechan aqueduct, Newtown, new nature reserves, four miles of bank and dredging works between Arddleen and Llanymynech and new bridges near Llanymynech.
Michael Haig, the Inland Waterways Association’s Shrewsbury District & North Wales branch chairman, outlined the benefits of canals demonstrated in the new IWA report Waterways for Today.
These benefits included the local economy, natural and built environment, local communities and improvement of peoples’ lives. He said all public navigation authorities are chronically underfunded, leading waterway organisations to combine to promote a ‘Protect our Waterways’ campaign.
“This really is a landmark year for the Montgomery Canal,” said Mr Limbrey, who praised the work of volunteers from across the country who join work parties and canal supporters.
“We now have a new appeal to give vital support to the volunteers as they extend the restoration from Crickheath and I am delighted that many donations have already been made,” he added.
“All this shows an amazing level of support across the country for a canal with social, environmental and economic benefits that will be an asset valued by residents and visitors. That is what so many people have worked for so long to achieve and that has to be great news for the borderlands of Shropshire and Powys.”
